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<title>Interaction Overview Diagram [Enterprise Architect User Guide]</title>

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                  <p class="p_Heading1"><span class="f_Heading1">Interaction Overview Diagram</span></p>



  
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                <p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">One of four types of </span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;">Interaction</span><span class="f_BodyText"> diagram. (The other three are <a href="timingdiagram.htm">Timing Diagrams</a>, <a href="sequencediagram.htm">Sequence Diagrams</a> and <a href="communicationdiagram.htm">Communication Diagrams</a>.)</span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;">Interaction Overview</span><span class="f_BodyText"> diagrams</span><span class="f_BodyText"> visualize the cooperation between other interaction diagrams to illustrate a control flow serving an encompassing purpose. As Interaction Overview diagrams are a variant of <a href="activitydiagram.htm">Activity diagrams</a>, most of the diagram notation is the same, as is the process of constructing the diagram. Decision points, Forks, Joins, Start points and End points are the same. Instead of <a href="activity.htm">Activity</a> elements, however, rectangular elements are used. There are two types of these elements:</span></p>
<ul style="text-indent: 0px; margin-left: 30px; list-style-position: outside;">
<li><span class="f_Bulletlist1" style="font-style: italic;">Interaction</span><span class="f_Bulletlist1"> elements display an inline </span><span class="f_Bulletlist1" style="font-style: italic;">Interaction</span><span class="f_Bulletlist1"> diagram, which can be any one of the four types</span></li>
<li><span class="f_Bulletlist1" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="interactionoccurrence.htm">Interaction Occurrence</a></span><span class="f_Bulletlist1"> elements are references to an existing Interaction diagram: they are visually represented by a frame, with </span><span class="f_Bulletlist1" style="font-weight: bold;">ref</span><span class="f_Bulletlist1"> in the frame's title space; the diagram name is indicated in the frame contents.</span></li>
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<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">To create an Interaction Occurrence, simply drag an Interaction diagram from the </span><span class="f_UIControl">Project Browser</span><span class="f_BodyText"> onto your Interaction Overview diagram. The </span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-weight: bold;">ref</span><span class="f_BodyText"> frame displays, encapsulating an instance of the Interaction diagram.</span></p>
<p class="p_SubHeadingL1"><span class="f_SubHeadingL1">Example Diagram</span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">The following example depicts a sample sale process, shown in an Interaction Overview diagram, with sub-processes abstracted within Interaction Occurrences. The diagram appears very similar to an Activity diagram, and is conceptualized the same way; as the flow moves into an interaction, the respective interaction's process must be followed before the Interaction Overview's flow can advance.</span></p>
<p class="p_TextIndentedL2"><img src="example%20of%20an%20interaction%20overview%20diagram.png" width="432" height="745" border="0" alt="Example of an Interaction Overview Diagram"></p>
<p class="p_SubHeadingL1"><span class="f_SubHeadingL1">Toolbox Elements and Connectors</span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">Select Interaction Overview diagram elements and connectors from the </span><span class="f_UIControl"><a href="activitygroup.htm">Activity</a></span><span class="f_BodyText"><a href="activitygroup.htm"> pages</a> of the Enterprise Architect UML</span><span class="f_UIControl"> Toolbox</span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;">.</span></p>
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<td valign="bottom" width="955" bgcolor="#efeff7" style="width:955px; background-color:#efeff7;"><p class="p_TiporNote" style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none;"><span class="f_TiporNote">Tip:</span></p>
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<td width="955" bgcolor="#f7f7ff" style="width:955px; background-color:#f7f7ff;"><p class="p_TiporNoteText"><span class="f_TiporNoteText">Click on the following elements and connectors for more information.</span></p>
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<p class="p_SubHeadingL1"><span class="f_SubHeadingL1">OMG UML Specification</span></p>
<p class="p_BodyText"><span class="f_BodyText">The OMG UML specification (</span><span class="f_BodyText" style="font-style: italic;">UML Superstructure Specification, v2.1.1, p. 514</span><span class="f_BodyText">) states:</span></p>
<p class="p_OMGText"><span class="f_OMGText">Interaction Overview Diagrams define Interactions (described in Chapter 14, &quot;Interactions&quot;) through a variant of Activity Diagrams (described in Chapter 6, &quot;Activities&quot;) in a way that promotes overview of the control flow.</span></p>
<p class="p_OMGText"><span class="f_OMGText">Interaction Overview Diagrams focus on the overview of the flow of control where the nodes are Interactions or InteractionUses. The Lifelines and the Messages do not appear at this overview level.</span></p>




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